My Life Had Stood
Chapter 37: Requires Sorest Need
Spencer bit his lip as he gazed down at Alsie, who still hugged her legs close to her chest. The petite woman seemed so vulnerable, curled into a ball, that he tried reaching out to her. Yet she flinched and pulled away from his hand when he'd attempted it.
His throat tightened and he froze for a second, his hand halted mid-way on its path. He'd simply wanted to push the hair from her face, so he could meet her eye and reassure her things would be all right. That nothing that had happened to her today or three years ago or during her childhood was her fault.
"Alsie, Alsie." Spencer crouched down beside her bed, so that he was able to glance up at her. To see her face rather than have it be hidden by their height difference and the way Alsie was huddled up. He swallowed when he saw that her cheeks were wet. "It's all right. It'll be all right."
Alsie peeked down at Spencer, her eyes reddened from her silent tears. For a few seconds she didn't say anything and simply gazed down at him, her brown eyes delving into his. Her lips twitched, hidden against her knees, while she thought quietly.
"...they lied to me." She mumbled, her vision blurring. She refused to blink however, and instead struggled to keep any more tears from falling. "Why does everyone always lie?"
"That's...Not everyone's a liar. I haven't lied to you. And I won't start. All right?" Spencer replied. Feeling an almost instinctive urge to comfort her, he reached up to push her hair from her face. He paused though, stopping his hand tentatively just an inch from Alsie's hair. He bit his lip, the way the petite woman had flinched and pulled away earlier causing him to hesitate.
Noticing the uncertainty in Spencer's eyes, Alsie gave a small smile and reached for his hand.
"...I'm sorry." She whispered and cradled his hand with hers, marveling at how much bigger his hand was. She suddenly felt much smaller. Her knitted brow and eyes darkened in thought.
"There's nothing you have to apologize for." Spencer replied, confused by the apology, as well as by how comfortable it felt to have his hand cradled by Alsie's. He thought about the dream he had had earlier, after he'd fallen asleep beside Alsie's bed.
Alsie simply smiled sadly, her lips shrinking into such a line that her mouth seemed non-existent. She grasped his hand even tighter in hers and cleared her throat, the action more to hold back her tears than to prepare to speak.
"...Alsie?"
"...have you ever fallen for someone you knew you shouldn't?" Alsie asked, her voice nearly inaudible, and even being so close to her, Spencer wasn't able to catch it all. She quickly shook her head when he started to ask her to repeat the question. "Never mind. It's not important."
"Al..."
"So...um, hm...my daughter...you think she's alive?" Alsie asked instead, struggling to get each word out. Her puffy, brown eyes stared down into Spencer's.
"...I believe it's possible." Spencer replied, his nervousness causing him to speak quickly. And without much stopping for breath. "Your child was taken through means of a Cesarean abduction. The unsub went through the effort of cutting your daughter from your womb, and the motive behind such an act is usually a form of maternal or in this case, considering it was a man who attacked you, paternal desire. Typically the goal of this kind of unsub is to keep and raise the child as their own."
Alsie sniffled, holding back a sob threatening to close her throat. Her eyes were downcast and her cheeks drenched with silent tears. "This is opposed to other...other...sexual motives, correct?"
Spencer nodded, squeezing Alsie's hand to reassure her. "It's likely your daughter is alive and hasn't been abuse. It's not a guarantee, but...I do believe your daughter is likely alive. So does Rossi and the rest of my team. We just need to find her."
"Okay." Alsie cleared her throat, her breath catching. "So my daughter's...out there and I...I haven't even looked for her...for three years? I...I haven't..."
"It's not your fault. You were lied to by people you trusted. By James..."
"But...a mother...as a mother, I should've...should've known." Alsie managed to breathe in deeply, steadying herself. But only for a moment, her throat sore from repressed cries and her voice hoarse. "A mother knows...or should know...if her child...if...what kind of mother doesn't...I..."
Seeing Alsie about to break down and possibly hyperventilate, Spencer wrapped his arms around her; Desperate to calm her down and lend some sort of emotional support. However he could only hold her while she cried soundlessly into his shoulder, no words of encouragement forthcoming.
"...Reid?" Rossi entered the room, his voice and the squeak of the door opening breaking the quiet. He sighed as his eyes alighted on the two, and he wondered if he should've waited. Perhaps it would've been best for all of them if they'd waited until morning to question Alsie. "Is Schmidt okay?"
Spencer turned toward Rossi, and shook his head slightly.
Rossi nodded his head, his hand back on the door handle. "I'll tell Hotch. And...you should probably both get some rest. I..." He gazed at Alsie, who had her face buried against Spencer. "Allison...Alsie, I promise you we'll find your daughter. James' daughter..." Rossi paused, trying to steady himself as he thought about the child, his granddaughter. "You probably don't know, but I have a daughter and grandson as well." He smiled a little as he thought about his daughter Joy and her son, about how he'd felt when he learned about them. He imagined how it would be once they found James' daughter. "Once we find your daughter, maybe you'd like to meet them?"
"...yeah." Alsie mumbled, flashing a shy smile. "That'd be nice." She swallowed, thinking about three years ago. "I...I was planning on meeting you, once Jem was born. I was going to tell you, about James, that he was alive. I...but after...losing Jem, I...I couldn't. I...I..."
"I understand." Rossi replied after a second, surprised by Alsie's revelation. Part of him wondered why she hadn't approached him anyway, but he understood at least part of the reason. If she had approached him with her story before they'd found out about James, he would've dismissed her as being crazy. Even faster than he'd done to his daughter Joy, and unlike with Joy, he wouldn't have believed Alsie at all. Not without proof.
"James...he never wanted you to know. We argued about it a few days before he left." Alsie continued, her soft voice the only thing audible. "I always thought that's why he left. But..." She swallowed and held tightly to Spencer's hand for support. "But after reading that article about him and what Shelly said...did he leave because he was...to those women? I..."
Rossi froze and took in a deep breath, unable to answer Alsie. It didn't seem that she'd expected an answer or really wanted one, since she immediately hid her face against Spencer's chest again.
0
Nevada:
"...ah, that wasn't so bad now was it, love?" Linnet chortled, his half-lidded eyes gazing down at the shackled woman. He smirked, an iron poker clenched tightly in his right hand. This one had been specially sharpened and warped so as to maximize injury from barbs running along its length.
"..." Leah Clemens flinched at the touch of the macabre poker as Linnet rubbed it over her abdomen. Then her thigh. The sharpened barbs scratched her flesh, leaving a trail of raw and bloody skin in its wake. "Please..."
"No, love, we're just getting started." Linnet smirked, but then put down the poker. Instead he picked up a camcorder and set it on a low table, one situated so that the camera could capture the woman fully. He chortled again, pressing the record button.
"Please..." Leah whimpered, shaking her head desperately as she saw Linnet pick the poker back up. "Please let me go. Please..."
"Heh." Linnet laughed and struck her with the poker, its barbs cutting into her thigh. His eyes widened with arousal as the woman screamed, the next moment he pulled the chain of the choke collar around her neck. "Quiet, love. Mon cheri is upstairs sleeping, I wouldn't want to wake her."
"...please..." Leah gasped, staring up at Linnet with fearful eyes. The man smirked, his gaze piercing into her, the hunger in his eyes saying she was nothing but a plaything.
The next moment he knelt down and brought his lips to her ear. Leah cringed at the feel of his breath against her skin, and at the stench of alcohol emanating from him. She tried to pull away but stilled as he whispered in his ear.
Her eyes widened and darted toward the camcorder, her face a mix of fear and horror.
'What..? No...'
0
-"This is Alvarez. I apologize for the suddenness of this call, Dr. Somerfield, but a certain matter has come to my attention recently, and...I must insist on meeting with you asap. Please call me back so we can schedule a time and place to talk."-
Morland Somerfield glowered as he listened to the first voicemail Alvarez had left, time-stamped 6 almost 7 the previous night. His eyes narrowed and alighted on the screen of his laptop. There displayed in full-screen mode of his web browser was an article about James and about 26 other children Connell had stolen.
He shook his head, fidgeting with his hands as he noted his name within the article. According to it he was a person of interest in the case and was being sought for questioning. The media refrained from listing him as a suspect in the case, but he knew he was. If the FBI had his name, it had to be because of James.
"If only Connell had gotten the child." Somerfield nearly snarled, his words and anger directed at no one. Just his computer and the hotel room. He wrung his wrinkled hands, while he listened to a second voicemail left by Alvarez, this one time-stamped at 5 that morning.
-"This is Alvarez again. I've tried to reach you last night, Dr. Morland Somerfield, in relation to an issue that I've just became aware of. It is imperative that you call me back."-
Somerfield continued to wring his hands, his eyes glaring at the article. His attention only half on the voice-mails Alvarez had left. He wasn't naive, he knew it was only a matter of time before that lawyer found out. Alvarez wasn't even important.
What was important was finding Leah Crawford. Once he found her, and the child Connell sold her, he'd have leverage. Leverage that was more useful than simply the names of the families that the FBI had missed. Of course, if Connell had succeeded in getting James' child three years back, this whole fiasco could've been avoided.
He laughed mirthlessly at the same time as the third, and final voicemail, began.
-"D...Dr. Somerfield. This..." A new voice, not Alvarez', spoke. Somerfield stilled, recognizing the voice. He glowered at the phone as the voicemail continued. "...no, I can't...you don't want to call George back to explain, fine. But know this. If you had anything to do with..." The man's voice broke off for a few seconds, drowned amid a myriad of sounds in the background. One of which sounded like a loudspeaker announcing arrival and departure times.-
'Shit.' Somerfield cursed as he pressed the end button, not needing to listen to the rest of the man's message. This was not something he'd expected, at least not this soon. Not before he found and spoke to the Crawfords. He cursed again, and picked up his phone, dialing a number.